St. Pius X out to prove it's more than local afterthought

St. Pius quarterback Clay Roberts is the beneficiary of a deep supporting cast.

St. Pius quarterback Clay Roberts is the beneficiary of a deep...

Stephen Hill gets it.

Honestly, most people can probably figure out why Hill's St. Pius X Panthers aren't seen in the same light as other prominent private school football teams around town.

In TAPPS, St. Thomas has carried the label as the city's best the past three years, though others have lost in title games in recent seasons. The Eagles haven't been that far - no one in the association's largest class has in close to a decade - but they entered this year on the heels of three straight 10-win seasons and a combined five losses from 2012-14.

In SPC, Kinkaid has reached the conference's Division I/Large School championship game games six years in a row. The Falcons have won three times and lost to rival Episcopal the other three, including last season.

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The last time St. Pius X played for a championship, the team's seniors were in the fourth grade.

So why now? What makes 2015 any different?

Depends on whom you ask.

Feeling disrespected

On the one hand, the Panthers are considered a good team but behind a few others around town. They trail Episcopal in one ranking. They trail Lutheran South in another.

That plays into the other hand - St. Pius X wants to prove it can be what many think it's not.

"You obviously want your program to get recognition for who we are and what we've done," said Hill, now in his second year as the Panthers' head coach after a stint at Kinkaid. "But when nobody puts us on that pedestal, then they're not coming to knock us off it - we're the ones that feel disrespected, and it gives our kids that extra motivation."

The Panthers have done their part, taking a 5-0 record into Friday's meeting with fellow unbeaten Stafford. St. Pius X has given one team (Fort Worth All Saints) its only loss this season and another (El Campo) its second.

The offense is averaging 52 points per game, while the defense has allowed just three first-half touchdowns in its past four games. St. Pius X beat All Saints 47-46 in the opener.

Last year's team was good but relied heavily on two players: Sam Vitulli and Micah Massey. The duo accounted for 72 percent of the team's receiving yards, while Massey accounted for 72 percent of the rushing yards.

"You look at us now, and we have five guys that are leading our entire district in receiving - catches and yards," Hill said. "So there's not one guy that you focus on to stop us."

Hill's right - four receivers have between 16-25 catches through five games, while two others have caught touchdowns this season. Three different rushers are averaging more than 5 yards per attempt.

That makes Clay Roberts' job easy under center. The senior, who had nine interceptions in two regular-season losses last year, has 27 touchdowns to just two interceptions in 2015.

Setting the tone

And Hill did his part. The talent was there - Hill saw that from afar. He just needed to rein the program back.

That started on day one.

"The first day of practice, I came in, and there were 77 pieces of trash, water bottles and stuff left out in the locker room," Hill said. "So the next day, we ran 77 100-yard sprints.

"The thing is, it's always been here. I just came in, and we went back to the basics."

Stafford will be a test. So will St. Thomas. And a playoff road that should include defending Division I champion Dallas Bishop Dunne and two-time runner-up Plano Prestonwood.

If the Panthers can take care of their end, they hope they're no longer the third or fourth or fifth team fans and prognosticators talk about.